iPad Pro (11-inch, M1)
The M1 in an 11-inch tablet, with Thunderbolt, 5G and up to 16 GB of RAM, keeping the LCD while the 12.9-inch model went mini-LED.
Released May 21, 2021 · Discontinued October 18, 2022 · From $799 (128 GB, Wi-Fi)
A laptop chip in a tablet. Apple put the same M1 as the MacBook Air into the 11-inch Pro, and the question of what iPadOS was actually allowed to do with that became considerably harder to avoid. The 11-inch model kept the Liquid Retina LCD rather than getting the 12.9-inch model's mini-LED, which is the clearest difference between the two sizes that year and the reason some buyers went large who otherwise would not have. Thunderbolt arrived on the USB-C port, 5G on the cellular models, and RAM reached 16GB on the higher storage tiers. Center Stage debuted on the front camera, following you around the frame during video calls.
Reviews & Reception
Shared its review with the 12.9-inch M1; the smaller model kept the conventional Liquid Retina panel.
There's no question that this is the best, most impressive iPad Apple has ever built, and that there's enough horsepower here to future-proof this thing for at least a few generations.
The new iPad Pro very much feels a portent of dramatic changes to come, but in this moment, it's - for better or worse - just an obscenely powerful tablet.